This invention relates to multi-rotor aircraft and more particularily to aircraft having laterally placed rotors transverse to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.
Several prior patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. H. H. Platt 2,414,766 Jan. 21, 1947, D. W. Main 2,389,798 Nov. 27, 1945, D. B. Linville 2,529,033 Nov. 7, 1950, A. M. Thompson 2,579,055 Dec. 1951, H. J. Bryan 3,409,248 Nov. 5, 1968 and foreign patents British #617,290 and #661,921 Cierva Autogiro Company Limited, French #637,938 and #1,330,233, Germany #721,878, #1,531,381, Austrian #203,876 and #231,656 disclose aircraft with laterally placed multi-rotor configurations.
All of the prior art aircraft have rotors which are directly connected to the fuselage or to wings rigidly connected to the fuselage. None of the prior patents appear to shelter the air stream from the rotor blades, use compressed gas as a transition medium, or provide for rotor movement means outside of the blade's diameter.
It is the intent of the present invention to provide a new and improved aircraft having a sheltered wing over a portion of the rotors that will allow the retreating mode of the rotor blades to rotate out of the air stream when the aircraft is in horizontal flight. A support and movement system that can structurally support and control some of the rotors' movement outward of the blades diameter as well as at a central location is another main objective.
Also a goal of the invention is to provide for a compressed gas ejection system which can aid the rotor blades in making the transition from operating in free air to operating within a structure.
Primarily because of the retreating blade characteristic, the speed of existing pure helicopters has been limited to about 200 knots since 1978. Also, because of the great complexity of the rotor assembly, tremendous stresses placed on the rotor blades, and the high vibration factors, the current rotor craft are extremely costly to maintain and have a high ratio of down time in relation to flight time.
The objects of the present invention are to provide an aircraft superior to existing rotor craft which can obtain higher flight speeds, be less complicated to construct, be more maintenance free and still have operation movements similar to a helicopter.